<p>We are trying to pull a family ski trip together to entice my son at Pomona to come home and to get everyone together for some fun. We would like to consider Jackson Hole or Whistler, possibly Vail but are finding lodging to be around 600-800 per night which will be a little steep for us with all the lift tickets and airfare for 4 and rentals needed. All are expert skiers except moi. Any advice from anyone would be great. My head is spinning from searching the web and not finding much.</p>
<p>Early March??? Are you looking at Condo rentals?</p>
<p>When darling D did ski we always found Tahoe and Park Cities to be the only places we could afford that had somewhat consistent spring snow (Utah being more consistent the decade we were going) . You can stay at South Lake pretty cheap or what we usually did was rent a condo at Incline Village. Friends usually stayed in Salt Lake for cheap digs and just drove the short poke to Park Cities or Deer Valley. Both Tahoe/Squaw Valley and Park cities/SLC are lots lots cheaper than Jackson or Vail. But Deer Valley? It’ll be the same or worse. I’d stay in Park Cities and ski Deer Valley.;)</p>
<p>Both my kids luckily have the same spring break around March 11.We will check those out curmudgeon. We were hoping to do a ski in/ ski out place but that is not looking too likely. We usually ski Telluride but the kids want to try somewhere new and challenging. Thanks. Anyone else?</p>
<p>I highly recommend Deer Valley - no horrid snowboarders, thank goodness. Plus my family has found that it’s generally nicer in terms of its lodges, accomodations, etc. than the other local ski areas. And the food is spectacular.</p>
<p>I have sadly determined that I won’t get back out West for probably four years - however, Killington is an hour away and I am taking classes only Monday, Wednesday, and Friday winter term.</p>
<p>Gracilesae,
Thanks for the suggtestions. I went to college at Tufts and spent many weekends at Stowe and Killington. Great places to ski! Enjoy!</p>
<p>Yep. We ate and the family ski-ed at the “european groomed” Deer Valley, but stayed at the much less fancy Park Cities to save $. Graciliscae, what is the name of the great lodge, where you literally ski off the patio? Is it just The Lodge at Deer Valley? And they have a wonderful restaurant in the Lodge itself. The problem as I see it is that I really think it might be as pricey as Whistler, Vail, and Jackson.</p>
<p>Keystone and Breckenridge are cheaper than Vail if you want to ski Colorado. There are tons of new and beautiful lodging choices at Keystone but you’ll have to take the short shuttle ride if you want cheaper room rates. The rates you quoted sound like ski in/ski out rates.</p>
<p>And if you need more of a challenge Arapahoe is a short ride away.</p>
<p>Look into Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Or</p>
<p>Some would argue it isn’t the same as Colorado but how about Mammoth. Your son and D both might like the idea since they would most probably have friends who are also up there for the break.
1849 condos are ski in and ski out and they have some huge condos in phase 2.</p>
<p>Try Simba Run (condo units) in Vail, across the hwy; there is a shuttle bus from the unit to Lionshead or you could rent a car at the Denver International Airport.Simba used to be cheaper than staying in Lionshead (where there is tons of construction now) or Vail Village.
For Park City, google Dave Holland Rentals. We stayed in plain, basic
Park Station Condos at bottom of Main Street. Price used to be reasonable; might hafto stay for a full week. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ski Steamboat! There are direct flights into Steamboat & Hayden, plenty of ski-in ski-out condos. I think they have the trailmap online–suffice it to say there’s a lot of skiing of all levels.</p>
<p>This is making me jealous. We used to ski out west every year, for about two straight decades. Then came college visits, musical obligations, and all the other stuff, so we’ve only skied the east for the last few years, and I have no up to date pricing out there. However, someone mentioned Breckenridge…it’s a great place, but the <em>base</em> is 10,000 feet–roughly a half mile higher than the base at Vail, and a quarter-mile higher than Telluride. By contrast, the <em>summit</em>at Park City is 10,000 feet, and the summit at Steamboat is 10,500. I’ve been to B twice, and both times ended up in the clinic being treated for severe altitude sickness. Just something to consider along with everything else.</p>
<p>That’s interesting Driver, I’ve never been to the hospital for altitude sickness but we used to go to Colorado every year ( before college ) and it always takes me half the week to get used to the altitude - severe headaches and fatigue- it gets worse every year to the point where I hesitate to go back. We’ve generally stayed in the Keystone/Breckenridge area. Do you think a couple thousand feet makes that much difference?</p>
<p>Yeah, I do, Liz. I’ve never had a problem anywhere else, and I’ve skied at all different altitudes. Never had a problem skiing at Vail, where the summit is something around 11,000 feet, but that’s because I was coming back down to 7500. At Breckenridge, once you arrive in the village, you never get below 10,000. And the summit is close to 13,000!</p>
<p>Arizonamom
March 11-18 is spring break week in the greater Van area which is probably why Whistler is expensive at that time.</p>
<p>But wouldn’t Canadian dollar versus U.S. dollar be of some help?</p>
<p>I’m with Wyogal: Steamboat.</p>
<p>D and H are both serious skiers and have tried a bunch of places but keep going back to Steamboat. They also liked Grand Targhee and Sun Valley–a bit cheaper, but not as much fun in the evening. (I hated Grand Targhee because the altitude is so high that I had a constant altitude-sickness headache.) My D also compared Deer Valley to the Four Seasons: “too much money and too much service.”</p>
<p>Whistler is popular with the college crowd because the drinking age in Canada is 19. My D thought it was too cold and the snow was too wet, although she did like the ability to have some wine with dinner.</p>
<p>Spring Break is an expensive. We’ve only done Steamboat and Aspen (The Gant). Wanted to get to Breckenridge, but warmer climates always seemed to call when time came to book flights. H is a major ski buff, but can’t swim. I’m a sailor, who can’t ski. </p>
<p>Hope you enjoy! This thread is making me shiver…brrrrr.</p>
<p>Steamboat, along with Vail, were the best places I’ve skied for family vacations. They were both particularly good for families with young children, which alas, is no longer a consideration for me. :(</p>